It has long been a common practice to provide a drum with a plurality of lug casings and a corresponding plurality of externally threaded tensioning lugs to secure a drumhead onto the shell of the drum. Typically, the plurality of lug casings are mounted on the exterior surface of the drum shell at equally spaced locations around the circumference of the drum. Each of the lug casings includes an internally threaded, floating fastener that is oriented generally parallel to the exterior surface of the drum shell. The tensioning lugs engage the floating fasteners of the lug casings to secure the drumhead onto the drum shell. The drum may have only a top drumhead, or may have both a top drumhead and a bottom drumhead. If provided, the bottom drumhead is secured onto the drum shell by a plurality of bottom tensioning lugs in the manner previously described. The bottom tensioning lugs may engage internally threaded, floating fasteners on the opposite side of the same lug casings, or the drum shell may be provided with a separate plurality of lug casings for engaging the bottom tensioning lugs.
The drumhead typically includes a substantially rigid outer ring made of metal or hard plastic that extends around the periphery of the drumhead. The tensioning lugs engage the outer ring to draw the drumhead downwardly onto the drum shell. In particular, the tensioning lugs typically include a head portion in the form of an integrally formed hex head nut and an externally threaded body portion extending outwardly from the head portion. A T-shaped torque wrench, commonly referred to as a "drum key," rotates the head portion of the tensioning lug so that the externally threaded body portion engages the internally threaded fastener of the lug casing, thereby drawing the drumhead onto the drum shell. As a result, the drawing force exerted by the tensioning lugs is concentrated on the drumhead at the discrete locations around the circumference of the drum shell that correspond to the predetermined locations of the lug casings. Alternatively, the drum may be further provided with an annular rim, commonly referred to as a drum hoop, made of a material that is at least as rigid as the material of the outer ring of the drumhead. The drum hoop has a plurality of openings therethrough for receiving the tensioning lugs. The drumhead and the drum hoop are positioned over the drum shell and the tensioning lugs are passed through the openings in the drum hoop to engage the fasteners of the lug casings. Although the drum hoop is generally stiffer than the outer ring provided on the drumhead, the drawing force exerted by the tensioning lugs nevertheless is still concentrated on the drumhead in the vicinity of the discrete locations around the circumference of the drum shell that correspond to the predetermined locations of the lug casings.
In addition to securing the drumhead onto the shell of the drum, the tensioning lugs are also used to tune the drum. The drummer positions the drumhead (and the drum hoop if utilized) over the drum shell and draws the drumhead (or the drum hoop and the drumhead) downwardly onto the drum shell until the tensioning lugs are finger tight. The drummer then taps the drumhead in the vicinity of each of the tensioning lugs and rotates the tensioning lug clockwise or counter-clockwise using the drum key to adjust the pitch of the drum. Rotating the drum key in the clockwise direction (i.e., tightening the tensioning lug) raises the pitch of the drum. Conversely, rotating the drum key in the counter-clockwise direction (i.e., loosening the tensioning lug) lowers the pitch of the drum. In about 1940, drums having eight or fewer lug casings and tensioning lugs per drumhead were first introduced. Drums having eight or fewer lug casings and tensioning lugs are less expensive to manufacture and require significantly less time to assemble and tune. However, because the lug casings (and thus the tensioning lugs) are spaced further apart around the circumference of the drum shell, the drum cannot be tuned as precisely as a drum having more than eight lug casings and tensioning lugs. With eight or fewer lug casings and tensioning lugs, the "dead" spots between adjacent tensioning lugs span a greater circumferential segment of the drumhead. As a result, there is a more distinct difference in pitch when the drum is struck at different locations around the circumference of the drumhead. In particular, there is a distinct difference in the pitch of the drum when struck centrally between adjacent tensioning lugs than when stuck in the immediate vicinity of a tensioning lug. The greater the number of tensioning lugs used to secure the drumhead to the drum shell, the more uniform the pitch when the drum is struck. However, as previously mentioned, the greater the number of tensioning lugs the more expensive it is to manufacture the drum and the more time is required to assemble and tune the drum.
There have been a number of prior attempts to provide a drum tuning device for tuning a drum having eight or fewer lug casings and tensioning lugs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,265 issued Jan. 13, 1981 to Tuttrup discloses a drum tuning apparatus including a plurality of lug casings and a corresponding plurality of cables stretched over the lug casings and attached to a slide mounted on a brace controlled by a screw jack. The slide ensures that the cables draw the drumhead and the drum hoop downwardly with equal force around the circumference of the drum shell to obtain consistent pitch. The Tuttrup apparatus, however, does not distribute the drawing force over an increased circumferential segment of the drum hoop. U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,988 issued Aug. 22, 1995 to Mayo discloses a keyless drum tuning device including a plurality of lug casings and a corresponding plurality of T-shaped tensioning lugs. The T-shaped tensioning lugs are seated into a drum hoop that extends around the periphery of the drumhead, thus applying tension over a broader circumferential area of the drumhead. The Mayo device, however, requires a special drum hoop, and thus, cannot be readily used with existing drums. U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,681 issued Feb. 28, 1995 to Hall discloses a drum tuning device including an expandable bladder positioned between the drumhead and the drum hoop. The drum hoop, the bladder and the drumhead are secured to the drum shell by a plurality of lug casings and tensioning lugs in the manner previously described. The pitch of the drum can be readily adjusted by inflating or releasing pressure from the bladder. The bladder provides a more uniform distribution of the drawing force around the circumference of the drumhead. However, the Hall drum tuning device requires extraneous external components, such as the bladder, a compressor, a pump and a source of pressurized fluid (air), and thus, unnecessarily increases the manufacturing cost and the complexity of assembling the drum.
Thus, it is apparent a need exists for a drum tuning device that distributes the drawing force exerted on the drumhead by the tensioning lugs over an increased circumferential segment of the drum hoop. It is further apparent a need exists for a drum tuning device that does not require a special drum hoop, and thus, can be readily used with existing drums. It is further apparent a need exists for a drum tuning device that does not require extraneous external components, and thus, does not unnecessarily increase the manufacturing cost and complexity of assembling the drum.